DGC Magazine July 2009 Issue § 21

Ven A P2P Social Currency From HubCulture.com

Hub Culture’s “Ven” Currency Can Be Used Online and at Brick-and-Mortar Hub Pavilions.

On July 4, 2007, Hub Culture declared independence from money with the release of a new P2P social currencynamed VENVen is a digital currency which can be traded to anyone with an email address. It’s considered one of the world’s

rst social currencies to move off the Internet into physical spaces. You can spend Ven at any Hub Pavilion

location or it can be used to buy, share and trade knowledge or services with anyone in the Hub network. TheLondon Pavilion offers a stunning modern environment for members to meet, work and collaborate.Ven is a very old word that comes from the Buddhist tradition, meaning “sharing that comes from giving.”*Page from the Hubculture.com web site

22 § DGC Magazine July 2009 Issue

Ven is the root of value addition in the economy - the place of overlap, or sharing that increases value in twocircles (or hubs).

This is why VENN diagrams reect this thinking. It

also means friend in Swedish, perfect for the P2P world.Members use Ven to buy, sell and share knowledgeglobally – such as introducing business contacts toother members.VEN is traded using a Facebook application and can be accessed directly through the web sitehttp://www.hubculture.com, and will soon be available across thewider internet. To date there are over 700,000 VENin circulation. Licensing is underway to make VENavailable in other trading systems, both online and

ofine.The value of Ven is pegged to the US dollar and oats

against other currencies. There are three membershipcategories for individuals and corporations, whichinclude access to the emerging global Pavilion network,

free wi, working space, online storage, snacks, drinksand coffees as well as access to exclusive benets from

luxury partners.Hub Culture began in 2002 and with more than 20,000

member it is today one of the world’s most inuential

private social networks. Events and features includeregular fundraising activities, a private collection of city guides, luxury mobile content, and collaborative

access to some of the world’s most inuential people.

Their stated mission is to help reveal and enhance their collective consciousness. Membership is limited and by invitation.Stan Stalnaker, Creative Director at Hub CultureServices, commented: “The age of networked work isupon us. Hub Culture Pavilions radically lower the costof working space for today’s knowledge leaders while

boosting efciency through collaboration. Intelligent

networks can lower business costs and improvesustainability by sharing knowledge, information, and

now physical space to the benet of all. It is our goal

that the Pavilions will usher in a new way of lookingat work, while creating a new depth of style andsubstance to these activities in which we all spend somuch time.”The London Pavilion is located on historic, revolutionaryCarnaby Street at Kingly Court, 49 Carnaby Street,London W1F9PYhttp://www.hubculture.com/